Fuse receptacle



Sept. 8, 1959 I. F. MATTHYSSE ETAL 2,903,539

FUSE RECEPTACLE Filed Sept. 26, 1955 IN VEN TORS [fr/0g f Ma 27/; ysse BY Henry .Bu/l/n e1" ATTORNEY United States Fatent FUSE RECEPTACLE Irving F. Matthysse, Stamford, and Henry W. Bullinger, Wilton, Conn., assignors to Bumdy Corporation, a corporation of New York Application September 26, 1955, Serial No. 536,401

1 Claim. (Cl. 200-129) Our invention relates to fuse receptacles having means for detachably supporting a fuse.

Fuse receptacles fall into four basic categories: those that accommodate knife blade fuses, those that accommodate ferrule type fuses, conventional threaded Edison type fuses, and the post type.

Generally these fuses are readily removable from the receptacle to permit replacement when blown. However, in the maintenance of aircraft, it is customary for electricians to disconnect a good fuse from the circuit and lay it on the floor or on a shelf where it may be accidentally lost, damaged, or replaced by a fuse of a different capacity.

Accordingly, the principal object of our invention is to provide a fuse receptacle adapted to retain the fuse in the receptacle but electrically disconnected from the circuit.

Other objects are to provide such a receptacle having a lightweight fuse suitable for use in aircraft; to provide means whereby the fuse may be readily freed from the fuse receptacle should the fuse become lodged within it; and to provide a receptacle which provides protection against dirt, metal filings, sand, dust, etc.

We accomplish these and other objects and obtain our new results as will be apparent from the device described in the following specification, particularly pointed out in the claim, and illustrated in the accompanying drawing in which:

Fig. 1 is a top view of one form of our fuse receptacle.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same.

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken in the plane 3-3 of Fig. 1, with a fuse inserted therein.

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken in the plane 4-4 of Fig. 1.

The receptacle comprises preferably a metal housing 12 for mounting to a bulkhead or panel 14. The metal housing may be made from a free working aluminum alloy and formed so as to provide the surfaces necessary for accommodating the fuse 16, as well as the various fastenings hereinafter described, connected with the housing.

The housing is secured to an insulator block 18 by a pair of rivets 20. The insulator block butts against the aluminum housing so as to provide protection against entry of dirt, metal filings, sand, dust, etc. The insulator block also provides mounting surfaces 22 for two terminal connectors 24 secured thereto by rivets 26. The terminal connectors are provided with a pair of clips 28 for the fuse blades 30 and furnish an electrical path for the terminals 32 when secured in contact therewith by bolts 34. The insulator block is recessed at 36 and 38 to accommodate the bolts 34 and clips 28, respectively, and further provided with a knockout hole 40 to receive a screw, not shown, which may be used, if necessary, for attaching a machine cover, or for freeing the inserted fuse, if accidentally lodged therein.

"ice

The terminal connector is bent to provide flanges 44 to confine the nut 46 for the bolt 34. This self-locking mounting nut feature does away with the necessity of lockwashers, and in general helps to reduce the weight of the receptacle.

A fuse retaining mechanism 48 is provided in the inner wall 50 of the fuse receptacle. It comprises a spring loaded detent 52 which engages a groove 54 provided in the sides of fuse 16. This holds the fuse in position when fully inserted into the receptacle to close the circuit. Groove 56 is provided in the sides of fuse 16 as a supplementary retaining position, whereby the fuse blades 30 are disengaged from the receptacle clips 28.

The fuse receptacle thus allows the fuse to be held in contact or no-contact position. This is advantageous in the maintenance of aircraft as it allows the electrician to disconnect the fuse from the circuit without the need for removing the fuse from the receptacle. Thus the fuse cannot be damaged, misplaced or replaced accidentally by a fuse of a different rating. With our fuse receptacle, the fuse is merely pulled into the disconnect position within the confines of the receptacle and at all times is ready for easy replacement in the electrical circuit.

We have thus described our invention, but we desire it understood that it is not confined to the particular forms or uses shown and described, the same being merely illustrative, and that the invention may be carried out in other ways without departing from the spirit of our invention, and, therefore, we claim broadly the right to employ all equivalent instrumentalities coming within the scope of the appended claim, and by means of which, objects of our invention are attained and new results accomplished, as it is obvious that the particular embodiments herein shown and described are only some of the many that can be employed to attain these objects and accomplish these results.

We claim:

In combination, a fuse receptacle and a fuse plug, said fuse receptacle having an opening at one end for receiving the fuse plug, and provided with guide means for guiding the plug linearly into said opening, said receptacle opening provided with spring means for engaging the fuse plug; said fuse plug having a housing made of insulating material provided with a pair of .recesses in said wall of insulation for receiving the spring means for mechanically holding the fuse plug in a plurality of positions in the recess of the fuse receptacle, said fuse plug provided with a plurality of conducting members for slidable contact with a plurality of conducting members contained in the recess of said fuse receptacle, said conducting members of said fuse receptacle having terminal means for attaching circuit wire thereto, said plug pro vided with means for withdrawing the fuse plug from the recess for replacement or for moving the fuse from one position wherein the conducting members are in contact to another position wherein the fuse conducting members are separated from the receptacle conducting members.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 361,713 Perkins Apr. 26, 1887 771,510 Thomas et al Oct. 4, 1904 1,505,849 Bates Aug. 19, 1924 1,556,829 Wyman Oct. 13, 1925 1,628,413 Lotz May 10, 1927 2,224,366 Johnston Dec. 10, 1940 2,626,974 Howard et a1. Jan. 27, 1953 

